At Ultimate Fight Night 25 this Saturday in New Orleans, Shamar Bailey will face Evan Dunham in a lightweight bout on the event’s preliminary card.
The fight, which will be available for viewing on Facebook, pits a powerful wrestler in Bailey over the more well-rounded Dunham.
Nevertheless, Dunham, 29, arguably enters the fight in greater need of a win, after the Oregon native lost his second consecutive fight in January to title contender Melvin Guillard. The two losses were the first of Dunham’s career, and amounted to a pump on the brakes of Dunham’s ride to the top of the heap at 155. An injury sustained in training further slowed his momentum, and this will be his first fight in eight months.
At 11-2 and 4-2 in the UFC, Dunham is more experienced Octagon-wise than Bailey, who fights for only the second time in the eight-sided cage (he is 12-3 overall, however). Bailey will be trying to build on a convincing (if unspectacular) win over Ryan McGillivray at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale in June. It could be said that Bailey, who was picked second overall on that season of the reality show, has to date not fully lived up to the expectations placed on him during his UFC affiliation. Though a surprise loss to Chris Cope in the show’s quarterfinals kept Bailey out of the championship, the UFC featured him on the live season-ending fight card.
This is Bailey’s chance to show that decision was correct. He hasn’t seemed to fully let go in the cage yet, and will need to do so against Dunham. If Bailey gets caught thinking, he’ll get caught in an armbar soon after.
Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris